Buddha Lo

Kah-wai “Buddha” Lo (born 21 August 1991), known professionally as Buddha Lo, is an Australian chef and television personality. He is best known for winning two consecutive seasons of the American television series Top Chef, becoming its first two-time winner.

Lo was born in Australia to a Hongkonger father and Malaysian mother. He was raised in Port Douglas, along with his older brother, where his family owns a Chinese restaurant called the Jade Inn. During his childhood, he earned the nickname "Buddha" due to becoming chubby from "eating too much of [his] dad's food." Lo started working at the family restaurant at age 12. At age 14, he began a school-based culinary apprenticeship, working at a five-star hotel and resort on his weekends.

Lo moved to Melbourne at age 17, after graduating high school, landing a job at Matteo's Restaurant and enrolling at the William Angliss Institute. While in culinary school, Lo won a scholarship for a two-month stage at the two Michelin star restaurant Café Lavinal at the Château Cordeillan-Bages hotel in Pauillac, France.

Returning to Australia, Lo was hired by Raymond Capaldi to work at his restaurant Hare & Grace, becoming its head chef by age 19. After two years with Capaldi, Lo moved to London, where he worked under Clare Smyth and Matt Abé at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. In 2014, he received the Gordon Ramsay Excellence Award. After two years in London, Lo staged at various kitchens throughout Europe, including France, Sweden, and Copenhagen, before moving back to Melbourne. Lo was a guest chef at various events, including the Melbourne Cup and the Australian Open, and became a chef ambassador for Lavazza and Tabasco.

Lo then moved to New York City, working at Eleven Madison Park for a year. In 2019, he became the executive chef at HŪSO, a small caviar-focused restaurant located behind Marky's Caviar retail shop on Madison Avenue.

Top Chef

In 2022, Lo was announced as a contestant on the nineteenth season of Top Chef, titled Top Chef: Houston. A longtime fan of the series, Lo started watching Top Chef at age 15, adding it to his career bucket list. Prior to filming, he binge-watched eight seasons, taking notes on past chefs' mistakes and formulating a strategy for the competition. He would eventually win the season, receiving its US$250,000 prize. Buddha dedicated his victory to his late father, Tze-Kwong "Tony" Lo, who died from cancer just two days before he got the call to appear on the show. He was then invited back to compete in the twentieth season, Top Chef: World All-Stars, which included former winners and finalists from several international editions of Top Chef. Lo extensively studied British cuisine during the three months between the conclusion of Houston airing and the beginning of filming for World All-Stars. He was once again declared the winner, receiving his second US$250,000 prize and becoming the series' first repeat champion.

Lo is married to pastry chef Rebekah Pedler. The two met each other while working at Hare & Grace. In June 2023, Pedler announced she was pregnant with twins. Their daughters, Tatiana and Alina, were born in October 2023.